As the crowd was waiting for Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band to take the stage Sunday, Col. Tom Wilcox called kids into the area right in front of the stage for dancing.

One girl in the back of the crowd started hopping up and down, “Mom, can we go, can we go? Let’s go!”

Sinise played the Malmstrom Air Force Base crowd as part of his second tour of the northern tier base, this year sponsored by the USO. This weekend included stops at Whiteman, Minot and Malmstrom.

“It’s awesome that we can bring him two years in a row,” Wilcox said. He’s 341st Missile Wing commander at Malmstrom. “Just goes to show how important these airmen are.”

Sinise also highlighted the importance of the Air Force Global Strike Command mission, which involves nuclear deterrence.

“People can start to forget we have people up here taking care of the mission,” Sinise said before the show. “I didn’t want them to think it was a one time thing.”

His band performed 24 popular, recognizable songs so people could dance and sing along.

The Lt. Dan Band shows are designed to “show support, raise spirits, raise money, raise awareness,” Sinise said. “The purpose is to make sure our defenders know we appreciate them on a daily basis.”

For Sinise, everything starts with the veterans in his family.

His wife has two brothers who served in Vietnam. One brother, Lt. Col. Boyd McCanna “Mac” Harris, was a West Point graduate where they give an award in his name and Harris rewrote the Army leadership manual while serving at Fort Leavenworth. He died of cancer in 1983, Sinise said.

His other brother-in-law was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, his sister was in the Army and married a Vietnam veteran. His nephew is currently serving, he said.

The military background in his family is in part what lead him to the role in Forrest Gump and Sinise got involved with wounded warrior organizations after filming the movie and after Sept. 11, 2001 wanted to get more involved in supporting troops, veterans and their families, he said.

Jennifer Smith, an Air Force spouse, said the event was good for families and since it’s kid friendly, they didn’t need a babysitter.

“That way the husbands can talk, the wives can talk and the kids can have fun,” she said.

One of her friends, who was sharing pizza, chairs, blankets and a canopy tent, was Senior Airman Keaton Pearce of the civil engineering squadron.

“It’s a big morale booster when they put stuff on like this,” Pearce said. “It’s one thing when everybody wears the uniform, but another when you can hang out and be yourselves.”